13 match's found in 'Beach/Sea/Coast' category -

Sally for island

The sea-truck was a disappointment. It's a small affair; dirty all over, the sides rusted by the salt of the seawaters. When we reached Maizdi Court port in the afternoon, the sea-truck was sitting there like the ugly duckling. The deck was already filled with lungi-clad men, burkha-draped women and children sat on wooden folding chairs, some munching peanuts, some having bananas and throwing away the peels carelessly into the air. Of course, what goes up must come down and so the floor of the deck was soon getting covered with the banana peels and peanut shells and becoming dirtier by the moment. A few mullahs all decked up in robes and <>topi<> lie sluggishly and read the cine page of a newspaper.

Island in stillness - Part-2

I yawned, stretched, rolledover and slid down the bed. It was fog all around, as I stood on the forest bungalow balcony. The dew was dropping from the tree leaves, leaving soft round marks on the dirt below. There was a pungent smell of the village -- of dirt ruffled by dews, trees and the sea.

Where deer sprinkle gems

Concluding part

A soft afternoon glimmered on Nijhum Dwip as we silently rowed down a canal. We all sat in silence, our eyes and ears intent on hearing every rustle of the nature. It's a surreal situation, our boats had to go under thickets hunched over the canal, all we could hear were birds chirping and the thickets brushing against the boat. On both sides of the canal are forests of kewra. Our eyes and ears strained. The sky seen through the bush looked too blue to be true.

Out sailing on the sea

I am always fascinated by the sea. Though I am not a swimmer or much into water sports, I have a sort of fatal attraction to the sea. I can spend hours after hours with the moist wind caressing my face while my feet soak in the salty water and ears get soothed with the sensuous sounds of the sea.

Inani

Swash of the sea

I Have crossed Inani several times before and stopped for a short break. Its breathtaking beauty always charmed me and yet I never had a chance to spend a whole day and a whole night at this beautiful spot in Cox's Bazar. So when we planned to visit Teknaj one more time, we contacted the forest department and made sure their bungalow, in fact the only one in Inani, was available for our night stay.

Part-1

Swatch of no ground

I was getting bored in Dhaka in the restless early months of this year when I got the invitation to a special treat on F.B. Baba Loknath. I fought with parents, ducked through corporate darts, tricked the weather, and finally made it to the Cabin No. 11 of MV Chhuti, anchored at Mongla port. We were to set off the next morning on a very special trip few have taken before -- a trip to the Swatch-of-no-Ground, a weird deep canyon in the Bay of Bengal, where you can have the rare chance of watching dolphins and whales.

Part - 2

Swatch of no ground

The night fell and darkness engulfed us. I was spellbound by the wonderful silence of nightfall; serene, peaceful and tranquil. The silence was broken by the call for dinner. Sobhan bhai, the cook, had already fixed the table, or rather the pati, and laid scrumptious food on it. The menu was simple; rice, daal, two types of vegetables and fish curry. Due to my low intake of food it was very difficult to convince the cook that the food was absolutely delicious. Consequently I was nicknamed 'chorui pakhi' (sparrow). Yet mealtimes were always enjoyable, as Master Shaheb, the captain and senior most member of the boat would hypnotize us with his stories, ranging from outlaws invading his village home to unknown sea creatures jumping on deck, while Kalimullah bhai, the engineer cum sculptor, would try to counter with his smart logic and Jakir bhai, the all-rounder, doing everything from cutting onions to helping Master Shaheb maneuver the boat through the freezing nights, would sit at a distance and smile discreetly. It took me little time to feel at home on Loknath. I was very comfortable just lying on deck watching the night sky, or Kalimullah bhai carving a piece of wood into 3 small cute dolphins with a simple chisel.

An underwater wonder

It all started with a dream of discovering the underwater world. Back in 2002, met Quazi Hamidul Haque, a veteran scuba diver living in Dhaka. That time I was dying to do an underwater expedition in The Bay of Bengal. I thought St. Martin's Island could be an alternative way to start with. We needed a lot of preparations as we did not have any experience.

Capt Cox's Bazar

In love with Nature, the winds and the waves. The blue waters reflecting the clouds that float by for the lovers eye. The playful mirth of the surf crashing onto a beach painted silver by the moon shining in the heavens.

Coastal Treat

Discovering a new Cox's Bazar

We wanted to travel along the coast. We called it a coast feast and so the traditional Cox's Bazar became our first spot. On a sunny warm morning, we arrived in Cox's Bazar. It was a long time since I last visited this place -- my reason to avoid it was the huge crowd that I always loathed. You have no privacy. Secondly, with the fall of dusk Cox's Bazar turns into the most boring sea resort I have ever visited. There are no clubs, no entertainment facilities. You just shut yourself up behind the hotel doors and brood over your gloomy years.

Coastal Treat

Trekking in Teknaf

We were coasting on the marine drive on way to Teknaf. It is one of the finest trips in Bangladesh, we decided. On one side you have the hills and on the other the sea. At one place we found a line of coconut trees. The view was simply breathtaking. The long beach lay lonely. I wondered why no one had put up a tourist lodge here. It could be the best place to get lost from the Cox's Bazar crowd.

Coastal Treat

The island of paradise

We were now off to St Martin's Island on our third and last leg of the coastal treat. The ship sailed on time but we had a bit of a problem with the cabin. The ship's crew had sold the same cabin twice to us and to another group. And now the crewmembers were nowhere in the scene as chaos erupted. Finally, with the shouting and hollering, they appeared tentatively and opened the cabin for us.

Coastal Treat

An underwater adventure

The island was just waking up with a bright sun smiling on the eastern coast. We came out of our bungalow to a gush of chilly winds. Out on the beach it was a green heaven turning into gold. We stood on there on the sand and watched the transformation of the island. The bluish pale of the night fast receding and the outstretched sea reflecting the sun in its every lap. Then the light caught the Kewra and coconut plantation and the whole island was caught in an amber fire. The fishermen were already out to the sea and the beach looked barren. Only the dogs lay in wait for the trawlers to return -- it would mean breakfast time for them.